christmas

December, as you might expect, is chock full of exciting markets, festive cheer, ornate light setups and interesting events (here’s a list for all over Italy). This is why we love it. The weeks leading up to Christmas and New Year’s Eve in the city are quite busy ones for locals looking to stock up on gifts while also celebrating the year with treasured friends and colleagues. I particularly enjoy being here at this time as the streets are sweetly softened…

It’s that time of year again when I try to stop procrastinating and get my holiday shopping done in advance before the stress of the holidays truly kicks in. Our plans this year are to head to Los Angeles for a quick five-day trip to celebrate the marriage of one of my best friends before heading back to Europe to spend Christmas with Nico’s family in France. Truth be told I actually hate shopping, for the most part, because I feel…

December, as you might expect, is chock full of exciting markets, festive cheer and interesting events (here’s a list for all over Italy). This is why we love it. The weeks leading up to Christmas and New Year’s Eve in the city are quite busy ones for locals looking to stock up on gifts while also celebrating the year with treasured friends and colleagues. I particularly enjoy being here at this time as the streets are sweetly softened with the…

It’s that time of year again when I try to stop procrastinating and get my holiday shopping done in advance before our big trip to America this December. Our plans this year are to stop by Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego (tips welcome!) before heading to spend Christmas and NYE with family and friends. I haven’t been back in two years, so I expect to be slightly shell-shocked as per usual by ‘Merica and all of its overabundance of shopping…

Oh hello there December, you cold beautiful soul. A month so full of events in Florence and the emptying of plenty wallets as people complete their holiday shopping. Because of the slow arrival of any semblance of winter, I still can’t find important things such as my gloves, warmer shoes and endless pairs of socks. Seriously who is stealing all of our fuzzy socks and leaving us with a sad, holy (literally holy) reminder of the ghosts of sock’s past.…

Let’s face it – the holiday season seems slightly doomed the second there erupts a fierce battle over the last waffle maker at Walmart during black Friday after Thanksgiving. And despite our attempts at making Christmas seem squeaky clean, Santa or ‘babbo natale’ as we know in Italy doesn’t always ‘get it right’. In fact when I saw the photo above – it reminded me of all of the awkward family photos we took in Texas often involving the jovial…

About Me

Georgette

Ciao, I'm a curious American "Tuscan Texan" who calls Florence, Italy home for the past 11 years. I am the editor at Italy Magazine and I also work as an established digital social media marketing strategist (5+ years) as well as a freelance writer. My bylines have appeared in Lonely Planet, Luxos Magazine, and International Living. This blog is my way to share what life is like living and working abroad, as well as provide up-to-date true advice on traveling and living in Italy, weekend trips around Europe, and a monthly roundup of interesting events. I'm married to a wonderful Frenchman and we have a Florentine beagle who rules the household. Keep in touch with our adventures with your favorite glass of franciacorta or espresso!